Welcome back to an action-packed Term 2!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter Break, and that you are enjoying all these shorter weeks and public holidays. It was great to have students and staff attend and represent the College at both the Dalby ANZAC Day Dawn Service and March, and at other events in our extended community. My family spent ANZAC Day in Brisbane attending their street march, it was great to recognise and thank those who work to ensure the continued freedoms we enjoy here in Australia.

The passing of Pope Francis on Easter Monday 21 April was a sad occasion in our church, a very humble Pope for the people. We join with our Catholic brothers and sisters throughout the world with prayers for repose of the soul of Pope Francis and for the College of Cardinals that will begin discernment on May 7 at the conclave to elect our next Pope. May they show the wisdom and humility of Pope Francis in their decision making.

Welcome

This term we welcome back Mr Daniel Cross, as he returns from spending time with his family in Term 1. It is great to have him back with our Mathematics and Technology Middle Years classes. We also welcome Mrs Jacqui McIlroy as our Careers Development Practitioner whilst Mr Dean Garside is on leave. Jacqui comes to us one day a week from St Ursula’s College and she will be a valued member of our Careers team this term. A huge thanks to Mrs Tracey Boland for her work ensuring that all things ‘Careers’ at the College continues in Mr Garside’s absence, we are blessed to have Tracey working in this space so Jacqui can seamlessly join us each week. It is also great to have Ms Katherine Black (1B) and Ms Kristen Joyce (2J) back in their classes. Mrs Jane Cruickshank will join 2J each Friday, we welcome Jane to this role. 

Parent Code of Conduct

Earlier in the year, Mr Peter Cuskelly sent out the TCS Parent Engagement Charter and TCS Parent Code of Conduct documents. We are blessed to have active and supportive families in our community that work in partnership with our College. Both documents are available on our website under the Parent Information tab for your reference. 

I have witnessed many examples of opportunities to develop the key partnerships between parents and staff to build stronger positive, healthy relationships that are a feature of our distinctively Catholic community in my three weeks of Acting Principal. Last Wednesday evening FACE (Family and Community Engagement) and the College hosted a parent workshop with Tierney Kennedy on ‘How to help with Maths at Home’? This was well supported by our parents and those in attendance were able to ask questions, hear the ‘why’ of how maths is taught and get tips and tricks on how to help at home. I think we all learnt something new to help our own maths as well as to be able to help our children. Volunteer numbers are strong with parents and extended family and community members helping in classrooms, in our tuckshop and on camps and excursions. FACE as well as helping with the social aspects of last week’s maths session is planning a Mother’s Day gift stall next week, a Pie Drive at the end of the month and planning and preparation for Saints Race Day is in full swing. These are just a few examples of ways we can work in partnership together, alongside reinforcing College expectations and supporting classroom teachers with your child’s learning. If you would like to be more involved by volunteering or assisting FACE, call into our College Office and we can direct you to the best contact person. 

Illness

Once again as the temperatures begin to cool, we have seen a spike in illnesses within our College community. A recent communique from Queensland Public Health suggests several ways our College community can work together to prevent acute respiratory infections (ARI), which spread quickly in schools where large numbers of students learn and play in close contact. According to the advice the College community has a role in ARI prevention in partnership with families. Together we can encourage good hygiene practices, including coughing and sneezing into a tissue or the inside of your elbow; discarding used tissues immediately into a bin; and cleaning your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Families are reminded to keep students’ home when they are sick, so they have time to recover and reduce exposure of others to sickness. Free vaccinations are also available for Influenza, COVID-19 and RSV if eligible and chosen by the family. Other ways we help in classrooms is through cleaning of frequently touched surfaces and ensuring good ventilation in classrooms with airflow through the door and windows. 

150 years of Christian Brothers

In 1963, the Christian Brothers established St Mary’s College for boys’ education Year 5-10 on our current College site. This later unified with St Columba’s Primary to become Our Lady of the Southern Cross as we know it today. This year the Edmund Rice Ministries Queensland are celebrating the 150^th Anniversary of Edmund Rice Ministry in Queensland. The vision of Edmund Rice to provide education and opportunity for boys initially is lived out throughout the world today and Edmund, is a role model for our students. As part of these celebrations, we will take a group of students to the Mass of Thanksgiving in July. Community members are welcome to attend the upcoming events for the 150 years celebrations.

Cate Brennan

Principal (Acting)